Thursday, April 9, 2015

Creating Student Focussed Lessons

One framework to help create intentional, focused lessons is described in Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (2005).

Often referred to as backward design, the process has teachers set clear, measureable targets before they create instructional activities.

The stages of backward design can be seen in below Figure ;

Figure UbD: Stages of Backward Design

Source: From Understanding by Design (expanded 2nd Ed.) Alexandria.

Identify desired results:

What should students know, understand, and be able to do? These outcomes typically come from standards, curriculum expectations, and pacing guides.

Determine acceptable evidence:

How will we know if students have achieved the desired results and met the standards? This can include both formal and informal evidence of student understanding and proficiency.

Plan learning experiences and instruction:

What activities will equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills? By choosing activities and strategies after clear, measureable results have been identified, instruction becomes more purposeful and intentional.

Important decisions must be made in each of these areas, but much of the real work of instructional design lies between the boxes in Figure in the arrows. How do we translate the results we desire into behaviors we can measure? And how do we create tasks and experiences that lead to these measureable outcomes?